"I'm a god. How can you kill a god? What a grand and intoxicating Innocence."
Morrowind was technically smaller in scope to the previous two Elder Scrolls Games. Arena, which was so ungainly big yet sparsely populated that one who chooses not to use the fast travel system would find themselves walking eventually for up to 10 hours between towns. (That's in real-time by-the-by) Or Daggerfall, which got a lot better with it's world building, both in the physical and narrative sense, but still ended up hefty and too intimidating if you don't know what you're doing. Morrowind toned all of that done into a much more sensibly sized fantasy RPG world that we're used to in today's market, yet with an incredible amount of detail to make up for that. Forging one of the most unique and interesting world spaces that had, or even to this day, has graced the video game world. Influenced by Egyptian mythology, populated by weird chitinous bug monsters, seeped in political intrigue; Morrowind would prove to be an RPG must buy for any with even a passing interest in the genre, and to this day many will attest that it's world has yet to be matched by any other title.
A world unlike any other
First I should start by saying that whilst I very much wanted the raw experience, I did download a few mods because Morrowind is an old game and doesn't quite shake hands with newer systems like it could. Those were just mechanical mods though. The Morrowind Code Patch, with almost all of it's gameplay tweaks turned off; (apart from toggle sneak, because that's just utility anyway) and the Morrowind Graphics Extender because that was the only way I could get a modern resolution for the game alongside a decent draw distance. (Basically, if you want to play Morrowind in the modern age I'd call both of those must-downloads.) Apart from that, I wanted the unburnished Morrowind experience I remembered from oh so long ago, thus I made my Dark Elf character, Jozen Zaljo, (no prizes for getting the reference) and embarked onto Seyda Neen.
From the get-go Morrowind is so similar, yet so very different from other Role Playing games around it. You start as a prisoner aboard a boat, a classic trope that Elder Scrolls itself has turned into a stable; but then are spit out into a world that, even in 2021 with the advances in software we enjoy, is simply gorgeous. A land of giant mushrooms, ash clouds, towering Silt Striders, eye-less two-legged Guars, floating jellyfish Netches, and so much more. It's a world of surprising colour, even when walking lands mostly tainted with the ash of the island of Vvardenfell's central Volcano, Red Mountain. The Flora and Fungi are perhaps the stars of the show here, blossoming everywhere and often ruling the visual asethetic. The Eastern wizards of the Telvanni even build their huge towers out of this fungi, demonstrating the way in which they can be moulded into the landscape. To this day, Morrowind is sublime to purely explore.
The art of Navigating
And in a manner most familiar to Elder Scrolls players, that's exactly what the game allows you to do; Explore. You are kicked off of the Prison boat and told to meet up with some weirdo in Balmora, but from there you've no real immediate obligations and go whichever way you want to. Explore the nearby caves, full with smugglers and slave pens. Walk along the road, rife with bandits, hostile animals, and a man falling from the sky with three powerfully unique irreplicable scrolls. The world becomes your oyster from that point onwards, and it's here that some folk will simply breakdown without any clue what to do or where to go, a common malady of Open World role playing. Morrowind, however, does sort of exacerbate that issue thanks to a design quirk which would be unimaginable in today's world. Morrowind has no waypoints.
Fighting Struggles
Once you have your bearing and can figure your way around the world space, another issue might have cropped up on your journey to Caius Coasades little hovel, the combat. Morrowind features a unique combat system which is a hybrid of Daggerfall's direction based mechanics and a, frankly ill-advised, borrowing of D&D concepts. Morrowind and Arena has a mouse movement system wherein you could hold down the strike button and move your mouse in such a manner to indicate the form of attack, whether it was a stab, slash or strike. (With different weapons responding better to different types of attack) Morrowind borrows this concept, only with the movement of the character introduced into the equation in a slightly awkward way. If you want to stab, you have to physically move the character back or forward whilst pressing the stab button. Slashing requires you to move left or right. You get the picture. It's not the best fighting system, but it's serviceable up until the point you actually hit the target.
I will never know what was going through the mind of the Morrowind developers when they picked this system, but here we go. When you hit the target, a system in the game will calculate the level of your skill with that weapon, influenced by your luck stat, to decide whether or not you actually hit. Think X-Com but on the fly. It's as bad as that sounds. So early levels of the game will consist of you standing in front of enemies and spamming the hit button whilst nothing connects and you just pray your health potions hold out long enough for you to survive. It's a bizarre system, thankfully overshadowed once you get into the late game with about 70 in your respective weapon skill, but that it even needs to be overcome to start with is mind boggling. Not this game's proudest moment by a long shot.
A Powder Keg
Overcome those struggles, however, and you'll be treated to a story wherein you get to delve into the fascinating political machinations of Vvardenfell and it's struggles both inside and out of it's borders. You're very quickly told that the one's who sprung you out of incarceration were the Blades, the mysterious division of secret police for the Empire, and it's thier desire to have you educate yourself on the workings of this part of the world. That's how you learn that Vvardenfell is a province torn between spiritual and political conflicts. You have the Tribunal, the three living gods, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil, who are the spiritual heads of the primary religion of the land, espoused by the temple. They've been challenged in recent generations by the coming of the Imperials and the introduction of their 'Imperial Cult'; basically consisting of the pantheon we know all too well, the nine divines. But this is only the tip of the conflicts.
You have the general disdain for the influx of 'outlanders' coming to the once sacred lands of Vvdarenfell, rumblings in the Temple as they try to cut down on some 'heretical' cult worshipping's of a long dead Dunmer hero and a dark cloud be hanging over all of it, as a plague of death hangs over the land from the threat of the newly awakened god, Dagoth Ur, sworn enemy of the Tribunal, as his forces gather atop red mountain, held back only by the magical ghost fence constructed around the volcano. Oh, also there's a lot of cliffracers. Like, too many. No one really brings it up, but I think that's an issue that should be looked at, they might be over-breeding, it could cause an ecological collapse if not seen to! All of I'm saying is; wipe out all the cliffracers with prejudice. They deserve it.
To be a blade
Becoming inducted into the Blades yourself actually works as a great narrative tool to have the players go out and interact with this world, and experience its various factions and questlines for yourself. Several points in the main story you are literally told just to go out there and do side quests, which can lead to getting involved in the mages guild, Imperial Legion or Morag Tong, or maybe even all three. Just go whether your curiosity takes you. Turns out being a spy for the Emperor is surprisingly liberating when all you have to do in service is random fetch quests with no context at the beginning. In fact, it even gives you a good chance to explore some of the dungeons under the guise of serving the main plot at which point you really come to terms with Morrowind's interesting dungeon design.
Unlike Skyrim's straightforward dungeons or Oblivion's overly formulaic ones, Morrowind features varied dungeons that either make you turn around on yourself a lot, second guess dead ends, or just miss whole chunks entirely if you forget to look up. Levitate is an incredibly useful spell for Morrowind that really informs a lot of the design and exploration, as some of the best items in the game are hidden just upon a rocky outcrop that you'd never suspect unless you got floating. Standard game design laws now say that every secret alcove of loot must have some form of indicator to lead the players to it, but Morrowind almost tried it's hardest to hide this loot, which is what made it feel more wild and exploratory to discover that which no one else has happened upon for hundreds of years.
Of course, the free life can only last so long and it isn't any time at all until you've been roped into what's going on in the main story, specifically when you're sent to converse with a so-called 'Dissident priest' in the temple; a faction of the temple who believe in a heretical reincarnation story for the ancient Chimer hero Indoril Nerevar. He was a contemporary of the godly tribunal back when they were still mortal, and belief in the legend of his eventual resurrection leads the temple to lose their mind and start sending out death squads, despite the fact that old Morrowind was founded on Ancestor worship. Delve ever deeper with the blades and the hook of the story finally lays on you, as you find out that the reason you were freed from prison in the first place is because you naturally fit the bill to be the reincarnation, or the Nerevarine. (A reference to the early Jewish-Christian concept of the Nazarene)
Some people out there bitterly hate it whenever the protagonist in an RPG is signalled out with something special to them, to do some special task. I always endure it as long as there's little or no talk of fate or destiny, because I think such inherently undermines the tension of the situation. If I'm destined to win, why bother? And yet with the Nerevarine prophecy, and way in which the player fits in, I find myself making an exception to my rule. Because it ticks all the boxes to be poor, and yet I fall for it all the same. Perhaps because there's this layer of political machinations wound in there, where some believe you're a plant from the Empire thrown in here to be their puppet. Or maybe it's just because, there's no real great moment of spiritual awakening for you. There's no point where you close your eyes, get imbued with the memories and strength of the Nerevarine, and have it confirmed beyond a doubt that you are he reborn. Instead, the story plays around with unreliable narrators, and the idea that there might have been several 'Nerevarines' over the years, and the completion of his ascension is the only real 'proof' there could be. What does it even mean to be the Nerevarine? Do you posses his soul, mimick his movements, shadow his footsteps? Heck, you don't even have to play as a man or a Dark Elf, and none of the Tribunal instantly recognise you, so I guess you don't look like him. It's left up to interpretation, and I appreciate that level of trust in the audience that isn't usually extended in Western fantasy.
The Incarnate
Another fun side of this story is the way in which everyone disagrees with what exactly it is that the Nerevarine is 'destined' to do. The temple believe he has returned in order to find and defeat his old advisor, Dagoth Ur, and save Vvardenfell from his curse, whilst the nomadic Velothi tribes think he's here to overthrow the Tribunal 'false' gods and restore the ancestor worship of old. Most seem to agree, at least, that he's on a path to kick all the outlanders out of Vvardenfell, despite him being an outlander himself. (As is revealed in a lost section of the prophecy that you have to rediscover) It's a curiously xenophobic addendum to his legend and reflects this isolationism theme to the game which is quite unique in fantasy, or at least unique in the way it's championed. Because of the total immersion element of Elder Scrolls games and RPGs in that ilk, they can get away with plot points like that which don't feel like personal political injections, but just unburnished displays of who these people are and how they act. Typical fantasy games would use such as an opportunity to wag their finger and tell us how we should be accepting, but Morrowind almost comically gives no heed to that and, again, trusts it's audience to reach their own conclusions about whether Morrowind society is killing itself through xenophobia.
Going through the long process of becoming the Nerevarine does mean one thing, however, that you are destined to battle Dagoth Ur atop Red Mountain, and I simply love the way the game imparts the rising tension of this inevitable duel as you go about the duty of winning every major Morrowind faction's support. It starts with dreams that wrack you throughout the night, and extends to 'dreamers' (brianwashed servants of Dagoth Ur) stopping you in the street to proclaim His word. Eventually you'll start getting attacked by Ash Servants whilst resting, and people will talk about the rise in corpus plague cases across the land, letting you know that the situation is escalating without needing any grand showcase moment that would have been impossible with the hardware. Not to say I like this approach specifically better than how Oblivion and Skyrim handle it, I like them both just the same, it's just nice to see the same effect achieved through different means.
I am a God
Eventually the moment arrives and you are tipped to face the shirtless man himself, Dagoth Ur, and can I say I love how he's become one of the most iconic villains of the series? It's so fitting. He doesn't need to show up throughout and taunt you like some of the others, he just waits under Red Mountain, for you, the Nerevarine. His plan to overthrow the empire and secure Morrowind's border isn't even that much adverse to your own destiny, meaning this isn't even a battle of right vs wrong. In a way, this is literally just Nerevar fixing the mistake he made in his first life; letting Dagoth Ur and his former friends steal the power of the Heart of Lorkhan to make themselves gods. He failed to stop them, and now he's here to rebalance nature. There's never really a question of doing what's right for Morrowind, as Elder Scrolls hasn't really ever had the luxury of multiple choice endings, and in a way I actually respect that rigidity; it rings with a universal truth that it doesn't matter what good the Tribunal has done, their power is stolen through sacrilege, and the ends do not justify the means. (Also, supplanting your people's religion with a dictatorship worship of you and your friends is a bit dodgy, let's be fair.)
Dagoth Ur is- well, what can I say: he's an icon. One of the few heavily voiced character's in the game, (most dialogue is written text) he literally calls out to you through your assault on Red Mountain in order to bid you to his side. "Come to me, Sweet Nerevar.", "Come through fire and war". His dialogue is just so delicious as well, dripping with this sincere pomposity that you just can't help but love. There's one moment, one which will live on in legend for me, where you meet with him and slay him in single combat, only to enter the chamber of the heart and see that he was tricking you, he's immortal. Any other villain out there would wax lyrical about how you're naive, and Dagoth Ur does go there, but he's so delightfully- himself about the whole thing. "What a fool you are! I'm a god. How can you kill a god, what a grand and intoxicating innocence. How could you be so Naïve?"
Who says that? A "Grand and Intoxicating innocence"! It's just simply brilliant, cheesy to the point of wrapping around and becomes badass again. It's only a shame that the actual fight itself is really straight forward, with no real frills beyond the place where you fight being a grand chamber under a volcano, which is admittedly pretty cool. There is a slight 'Seath the Scaleless' side to the battle where Dagoth Ur cannot be killed until the source of his power, The Heart of Lorkhan, is destroyed, but apart from that there's nothing crazy special about the battle, which is a bit of a shame. I'll still remember the fight fondly though, for the set piece alone if not also for the enigmatic would-be warlord himself.
Future instalments would paint the legacy of Morrowind's hero in a curiously dark light, too, with his destiny of driving outlanders from Morrowind actually panning out. The defeat of Dagoth Ur, through the destruction of the heart, drains the divine power of the Tribunal too ('a necessary evil' in Vivec's eyes) and thus leads to their eventual withdrawal from the world to die as mortals. However, seeing as how among Vivec's many godly accomplishments was the halting of a meteorite over his home city, you can imagine what him losing his powers might result in. Skyrim reveals that years after the events of Morrowind this meteor would end up crashing into the city of Vivec, wiping it out and setting off Red Mountain. The resulting lava and ash would render Vvardenfell and large swathes of the Morrowind mainland uninhabitable leading to a mass exodus. Meaning the Nerevarine didn't just clean Vvardenfell of outlanders, but of all life. What a devilishly twisted legacy for the incarnate.
The road most travelled
How could I finish up without touching on the music? Simple, I can't. The Elder Scrolls have never been strangers to fantastic musical scores that stand out above others in their genre with identifiable grace and personality. Morrowind is no different, with it's classic take on The Elder Scrolls fanfare being a deeply personal and reminiscent jaunt for me. There's no heavy trumpets and loud choirs, but a wood flute, tuneful and rustic. Again, I'm not musically trained in any fashion so I find it hard to really express how a piece of music speaks to me aside from talking about how it makes me feel, and in that vein I always felt the soul of the nomadic Veloth tribes in the Morrowind theme. It's incidental music is similarly iconic and peppered with plenty of fun adventure-inciting phrases, and if we're to judge the soundtrack of this game against that of the always spectacular Elder Scrolls series soundtracks, I'd have to call Morrowind an incredibly close second favourite. It doesn't even come down to skill, but personal preference. Still Morrowind's soundtrack in one of the best, plain and simple.
Summary
In narrative I'll attest that Morrowind has yet to be matched from it's successors, presenting a tale that effortlessly weighed up political and spiritual angles, mashed them together and came out the otherside looking pristine; that's just stylish. My only gripes would be that ultimately there was no real choice for how the main story would play out, which I think would have had a definite place in a story like this. However, considering this game came out in 2002 and stories like that weren't exactly expected from games, it seems unfair to judge that specific aspect by today's standards. Afterall, the resulting narrative doesn't exactly suffer from a straightforward path and the natural freedoms of Morrowind means you can choose to frame your actions however you wish, so is there any real problem here?
The world building, similarly, is world class and would set the standard for Bethesda forevermore. The level of quality that Bethesda is forced to hit with each one of their games on this standard is owed directly to the supremacy of Morrowind. This game's exploration is one of my favourite out of any action adventure RPG, easily better than subsequent Elder Scrolls games, and if only navigation wasn't such a pain I'd be honestly surprised why Morrowind's method isn't the gold standard for the industry. We need more fantasy spaces as unafraid to be original as Morrowind's Vvardenfell was.
Ultimately, Morrowind still stands out as one of the best examples of how to nail fantasy, and many modern titles could learn entire volumes from it. Most of it's shortcomings in 2021 are due more to it's age rather than missteps (apart from combat) and those with the mindset to look past them will be genuinely shocked by the level of quality and beauty behind them. Coming back to this game was an absolute blast, and reminded me why I love the Elder Scrolls series after I was really starting to come to question that. (I've played over 108 hours in the past two weeks, the games gotta be doing something right) Of course, I've talked about only the main game here, and that's because I want to touch on the expansions and other elements in smaller mini reviews. But as for the maingame of Morrowind, I have to slap a heavy recommend onto this review with a B+ Grade, short of any of the two higher grades simply because a let down in gameplay is a pretty serious infraction when we're talking about a game. But when the grade still hits that high regardless, you know those other elements do some serious heavily lifting to make up the difference, and I wouldn't suggest missing out on all the brilliance of Morrowind for anything in the world. For less than $15 on Steam, there is no excuse not play one of Bethesda's best right now. So don't miss out, or you'll forever be just another N'wah!
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